How The California Opt Me Out Act (AB 566) Will Impact The AdTech Ecosystem

Governor Newsom has signed into law AB 566, also known as the California Opt Me Out Act. This law significantly alters the landscape of how consumers will communicate their privacy preferences under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and while the law primarily places new obligations on browser developers, it will have a profound practical impact on businesses that operate internet websites and rely on cookies, pixels and similar technologies as part of their marketing strategy.

Put simply, the law mandates that browsers must include functionality allowing consumers to configure an "opt-out preference signal". The CCPA already obligates website operators to recognize opt-out signals, but prior to this law, browser developers were not previously legally obligated to build this functionality into their browsers. Therefore, businesses need to continue to take the compliance steps to recognize opt-out signals and be prepared for a significant uptick in those